Nations League matchday 1, Saturday: Spain come from behind at Wembley, Croatia win in Prague, and Finland score seven

Matchday 1 closed with ten matches and twenty-nine goals, and the biggest of them went the way of the Euro 2024 final. Spain beat England 3–2 at Wembley after trailing 2–1 at half-time, with Harry Kane missing a penalty at 2–1 that would have made it three. Croatia won 2–1 in Prague through Luka Modrić and Marco Pašalić, so Spain and Croatia lead League A, Group 3 before they meet on Tuesday. Finland scored seven in San Marino, the biggest win of the round; Switzerland won 3–0 in Skopje with two goals and an assist from Zeki Amdouni; Luxembourg came from behind to win in Bulgaria. Five of the seven winners were away from home.

The early kick-offs

Slovenia 0–0 Scotland opened the day, in League B, Group 1. Scotland had 65 per cent of the ball and seventeen shots, five on target, to Slovenia's four and one, and could not score. The only goalless draw of the day.

San Marino 0–7 Finland was three at half-time and seven by the end. Joel Pohjanpalo scored on 5, 79 and from the penalty spot on 88; Adrian Svanbäck on 14 from Leo Walta's pass and Benjamin Källman on 33 from Svanbäck's; Walta on 50 and on 55 from Juho Lähteenmäki. Alessandro Golinucci was sent off for San Marino on 51. Finland had 75 per cent of the ball, 23 shots and eleven on target; San Marino had one shot and no corners.

Faroe Islands 1–1 Kazakhstan was level by the 26th minute and stayed there. Áki Samuelsen scored on 14 from Andrias Edmundsson's pass; Temirlan Erlanov equalised on 26 from Bauyrzhan Islamkhan's. The Faroes had fourteen shots and seven corners to Kazakhstan's ten and five.

Iceland 1–1 Estonia in Reykjavík was a lead lost. Andri Guðjohnsen scored on 45 from Hákon Arnar Haraldsson's pass; Kevor Palumets missed a penalty for Estonia on 52, and Maksim Paskotsi equalised on 64 from Rasmus Peetson's pass anyway. Iceland had 63 per cent possession and nineteen shots to eight.

Bulgaria 1–2 Luxembourg in Gabrovo turned after Asen Chandarov's opener on 18, set up by Dimitar Velkovski. Leandro Barreiro equalised on 37 and Vincent Thill scored the winner on 65. Both sides put seven shots on target.

The evening

England 2–3 Spain began with Lamine Yamal scoring in the second minute. England turned it round before the break, Anthony Gordon on 36 from Jude Bellingham's pass and Kane on 40 from Nico O'Reilly's, and Kane then missed a penalty on 54 with England 2–1 up. Spain equalised on 60 through Alejandro Baena from Dani Olmo's pass, and Mikel Oyarzabal scored the winner on 74 from Baena's. Spain had 53 per cent of the ball and fifteen shots to thirteen; both sides had five on target. Spain have now won three of the last four meetings, including the Euro 2024 final.

Czechia 1–2 Croatia was goalless at the break. Modrić scored on 47 from Igor Matanović's pass, Adam Karabec equalised on 54 from Adam Hložek's, and Pašalić won it on 77 from Ivan Perišić's. Croatia had sixteen shots to Czechia's five, and six corners to one. Croatia are unbeaten in the last three meetings.

Albania 2–0 Belarus was won before half-time: Kristjan Asllani's penalty on 34, then Ernest Muçi on 45+2 from Elseid Hysaj's pass. Albania had twenty shots and only three on target; Belarus had eight and two, and four yellow cards.

Slovakia 2–0 Moldova in Prešov was decided in eight first-half minutes: Ivan Schranz on 32 from Tomáš Suslov's pass and Ondrej Duda's penalty on 40. Slovakia had 68 per cent of the ball and seventeen shots; Moldova had one shot on target.

North Macedonia 0–3 Switzerland closed the round. Remo Freuler scored on 22 from Amdouni's pass; Amdouni scored on 41 and on 74 from Zachary Athekame's pass. Switzerland had 23 shots and eleven on target. North Macedonia had two shots, none on target, and no corners.

Where the groups stand after one round

Every side has played once, so each group is a win, a draw or a defeat apart. The leaders on goal difference:

• League A. Group 1: Belgium (+2) from France (+1), Türkiye and Italy on nothing. Group 2: Greece on three points, Netherlands and Germany on one after their 1–1, Serbia on nothing. Group 3: Spain and Croatia on three, England and Czechia on nothing. Group 4: Portugal and Norway on three, Denmark and Wales on nothing.
• League B. Group 1: Switzerland (+3), then Slovenia and Scotland on a point, North Macedonia on nothing. Group 2: Northern Ireland and Ukraine, both 1–0 winners away from home. Group 3: Austria (+2) and Kosovo (+1). Group 4: Sweden on three, Poland and Bosnia and Herzegovina on one, Romania on nothing.
• League C. Group 1: Finland (+7) and Albania (+2). Group 2: Armenia (+2) and Montenegro (+1). Group 3: Slovakia alone on three, the Faroes and Kazakhstan on one. Group 4: Luxembourg alone on three, Iceland and Estonia on one.
• League D. Malta lead Group 1 and Lithuania Group 2; Gibraltar and Azerbaijan play their first match on Sunday.

Numbers to know

• Twenty-nine goals in ten matches, seven winners and three draws. Two home wins, five away wins.
• Matchday 1 as a whole: 26 matches, 63 goals, 21 winners and five draws.
• Finland's 7–0 is the biggest win of the round. Pohjanpalo's three goals are the round's only hat-trick; Svanbäck scored one and set up two, Walta scored two and set up one.
• Two penalties missed in the same afternoon and evening: Palumets for Estonia at 1–0 down, Kane for England at 2–1 up. Spain then scored twice.
• North Macedonia's two shots, none on target, are the lowest of the round; San Marino's one shot came with no corners.
• Spain's win at Wembley is their second there in this competition, after 2–1 in September 2018.

Next up

Matchday 2 begins on Sunday with eight matches: Lithuania v Azerbaijan at 13:00 UTC; Serbia v Netherlands, Denmark v Wales, Austria v Kosovo and Gibraltar v Andorra at 16:00; Germany v Greece, Norway v Portugal and Israel v Republic of Ireland at 18:45. All 26 matches of the round are in the preview, and the full fixture list is on the Nations League page.